Handbrake

[NeilAvensisT]

Happy Easter all.  I currently have an Avensis, my wife a Mini, but we are thinking of changing her car. She has previously owned many years ago a 2006 Yaris, which she loved and would like another. One snag, she just cannot get on with electronic handbrakes. My question is when did Toyota stop doing 'normal' manual handbrakes? A cursory Google search wasn't conclusive? Many thanks.

[Bper]

Hi Neil,There isn't one definitive date for Toyota phasing out manual handbrakes across all their models.  The industry as a whole is moving towards electronic parking brakes, but Toyota's adoption varies by car model.Look for used Toyota Yaris models online or at dealerships. Look at the year and see if the listing mentions a manual or electronic handbrake. This will give you a Idea of when the switch might have happened around the Yaris model specifically. The Toyota website might have archived information on past Yaris models. Check their past models section or use the search function for the Yaris and see if you can find specifications for older versions mentioning the handbrake type. Hope this helps 

[MikeSh]

Our second facelift Yaris Excel hybrid has a manual handbrake, so I'd guess they didn't start fitting electric ones till MK4.

[Bernard Foy]

My wife has a 2015 Yaris 1ltr Petrol with a manual handbrake.

[flash22]

yaris 1999-2020 has a manual handbrake

the Mk4 has EPB, very strange at first, muscle memory means you keep going for the hand brake, even after 6-7 years I still go to grab the keys out of the ignition at times

[Cyker]

I was just glad when I finally retrained myself to stop trying to press a non-existent clutch  

[Jimota]

If it’s a Yaris hybrid that’s she’s after, then there isn’t a problem with electronic handbrakes.  I’ve had a Yaris Cross for the past 15 months and never use the hand brake.  When stopped at traffic lights, junctions or stationary behind other vehicles, I just keep my right foot on the brake pedal until I need to accelarate.  That’s the beauty of ECVT gearboxes, you don’t have to apply the handbrake every time you stop.  

[Cyker]

There is also a Brake Hold ability which holds the brake pedal for you when stationary, and the car can automatically apply the electronic handbrake when you put the car in Park and automatically disengages if you take it out of Park (Which is how they should have been when they invented the EPB; I don't know why it took so long to tie them together!) or otherwise try and move.

I hate EPBs but the way it's been implemented in the Yaris models is very intuitive and isn't as big a PITA as it's been in some cars I've played with.

[jthspace]

Personally, I love the EPB on the Yaris; as Cyker mentioned, I have set mine to go on/off with putting the car in/out of "P" and have never experienced an issue.  Also the "Hold" setting is OK, but it does hold the footbrake on which means it leaves brake lights illuminated to the (possible) discomfort of people behind.  OK for traffic lights, but at level crossings or other long delays I always apply the EPB. It deactivates instantly when the car starts to move.

My biggest problem is with my non-epb MX5 where I've forgotten to put the handbrake on 😂🤣

[hind]

4 minutes ago, jthspace said:

at level crossings or other long delays I always apply the EPB

So you stay in D and manually enable parking brake? I never considered that, just switching to P when I anticipate longer than a minute stay

[Roy124]

15 minutes ago, jthspace said:

but at level crossings or other long delays I always apply the EPB. It deactivates instantly when the car starts to move

Instantly is true, however if you are lazy the car will switch automatically after a time.  AFAIK that time is not adjustable. 

[NeilAvensisT]

Thanks for all the replies, looks like up to about 2020, to the Mk4, is when the change came in. Like all manufacturers though, there will be a lot of 'crossover' I guess, but it was likely a 2016/17 I was going to be looking at, so looks all good. Cheers.

[TonyHSD]

21 hours ago, flash22 said:

yaris 1999-2020 has a manual handbrake

the Mk4 has EPB, very strange at first, muscle memory means you keep going for the hand brake, even after 6-7 years I still go to grab the keys out of the ignition at times

I didn’t notice you have changed your car. 
Enjoy your new Yaris. 🚙👍

[Cyker]

Ooh good spot, you kept that quiet flash!!

4 hours ago, hind said:

So you stay in D and manually enable parking brake? I never considered that, just switching to P when I anticipate longer than a minute stay

I normally switch to P as well - I don't like how the car strains continuously against the EPB if you're in Drive, and that horrible lurch you get when it switches from the hydraulic brakes to the EPB I find unpleasant.

 

3 hours ago, Roy124 said:

Instantly is true, however if you are lazy the car will switch automatically after a time.  AFAIK that time is not adjustable. 

It seems to be about 2 or 3 minutes - It will flash up a message saying press the foot brake to maintain Brake Hold, and if you ignore, it switches to the EPB and disengages the hydraulic brakes, accompanied by the nasty lurch I mention above.

If I see that message (Which I do regularly because M25 Smart Motorway sections), I usually take it as a cue to switch to P because I'll be thee for a while...  

[flash22]

sssh, it has only been a few weeks, I was waiting to see if anyone noticed

22 plate Excel in scarlet flare it's a late December 2021 build making it one of those odd spec 2021.5 cars, registered March 22

[Cyker]

Nice   must admit if eagle-eyed Tony hadn't mentioned it I wouldn't have!  

Be interested to hear how you're finding it and compared to the Mk3!

 

[flash22]

2 very different driving cars, and the ride is a bit firm on 17" 45 profile, no HUD, Nav or JBL, but it does have park assist, RCTA+B, BSM and lots of other hidden stuff, got a few upgrades to do yet

[Cyker]

You're not missing anything with the Nav (AA/ACP's better for that anyway which is why I think they thought they could get away with omitting it) or JBL (I honestly think the normal sound system is better balanced against road noise unless you're just parked up listening to music).

I do think the best thing I did for mine was slapping the 15's on it though - I reckon I would have cracked at least one of the 17's by now on a pothole!!  

I can't even imagine how people who picked the GR Sport with its 18" rims deal with them!!

It is fun to fling about though isn't it?  

[anchorman]

Hmm, cannot get on with epb’s sounds like doesn’t understand them and won’t tolerate them.  They are safer and unbelievably simple to use.  I’ve had my Lexus with epb for 6 months and I’ve genuinely never once touched the handbrake button because there is no need to, it can’t be any more simple to use.  I’d spend a bit of time getting her used to it because there won’t be a choice soon.  

[Cyker]

TBH I think we've been spoilt a bit - In the older incarnations where it wasn't tied to Park and didn't disengage automatically they were a PITA; Where you had a big handbrake lever it was easy to operate without looking, but with most EPBs you have to look for the tiny rocker that's normally in a sea of other unrelated buttons and that was just objectively worse.

That and the unreliability and expense of fixing them when they went wrong!

These new ones seem better weather-sealed, and just that little change of being able to tie them with Park makes them so much more convenient to use since you don't need to hunt for the tiny button and just shift the nice big drive lever (Or P button for you lucky people with the puck!)

[Bper]

6 minutes ago, Cyker said:

TBH I think we've been spoilt a bit - In the older incarnations where it wasn't tied to Park and didn't disengage automatically they were a PITA; Where you had a big handbrake lever it was easy to operate without looking, but with most EPBs you have to look for the tiny rocker that's normally in a sea of other unrelated buttons and that was just objectively worse.

That and the unreliability and expense of fixing them when they went wrong!

These new ones seem better weather-sealed, and just that little change of being able to tie them with Park makes them so much more convenient to use since you don't need to hunt for the tiny button and just shift the nice big drive lever (Or P button for you lucky people with the puck!)

Cyker,not owing a car with a EPB I continually read on the forum the problems being experienced with these along with potential costs for repair. Are they really a good idea or would it have been a better idea not to have them and just have the standard manual handbrake.?

[Benzowner]

My last car, Nissan Qashqai, and now my current car, Yaris Cross, both have electronic parking brakes, the Toyota system is light years ahead of Nissan. Both cars are auto's and the Nissan had to put the car in drive and literally pull away before the handbrake released, the Toyota releases when the car is put in drive, to do so you must have your foot on the brake, so no sudden forward movement. The Nissan system would also stick occasionally needing then to manually release the brake. On both cars, there is a manual override switch to apply or release the brake. On the Yaris cross there is also a hold button, but after 6 months of owning the car I have not used this yet so cannot really comment.

[hind]

1 hour ago, Bper said:

Are they really a good idea or would it have been a better idea not to have them and just have the standard manual handbrake.

I remember how shocked some of my occasional passengers were, when they noticed that I pull a handbrake while waiting on a red light with neutral (manual) gear. Because "it might stick" and everyone had someone who had to drag their locked axle because the handbrake didn't disengage. Yet I never ever experienced anything apart from the little cling after rainy day, regardless of the temperature. I just constantly use the handbrake according to what I was taught in the driving school. So all these legends, passed from generation to generation, warning about the use of handbrake, caused that almost nobody used it anymore and when they occasionally did, they were struck by the issues caused by the dirt and rust of the unused mechanism. 

So I wouldn't be surprised if this legend was extended to EPB's (because now it's a handbrake but worse!) 😉 

Anyway I'm still gonna use mine on a regular basis 🙂 

[Cyker]

I don't think they are better or worse, just different - Both have advantages and disadvantages.

I *much* prefer a manual handbrake in manual cars - EPBs are just rubbish with manual cars because they are so slow and unpredictable compared to a handbrake, and make things like hill starts much harder, so much so they had to invent hill hold assist-style functions which is something no manual handbrake driver should ever need.

However, with the hybrid, I find the EPB works well with it because it's mostly automatic and I don't have to deal with it. I only really use it in conjunction with Park, as all other times I'm using the Brake Hold function. I think if I was forced to use the EPB with the hybrid the ways I'd use the handbrake with a manual, I'd hate it a lot more, as it just doesn't work well for that use case though.

The main reason EPBs are a thing is it benefits the manufacturer, not because they are 'better' - EPBs are much easier to package and install as they save a lot of space not having a mechanical handbrake lever, and it's easier for them to run electrical wiring to modular motors than a cable into brake shoes/cams, which increases manufacturing throughput.

My biggest gripe with EPBs is they won't work without power, whereas a handbrake always works!

[anchorman]

I’ve never heard such drivel.  Handbrakes that stick through lack of use, my favourite misuse of language “shocked” but without the need for treatment and now they’re slow.  
 

How to make a simple thing complicated.  
 

Below, a woman who witnessed a handbrake being used